Following the Rules of Procedure of the new court coming into force in September, the UPC's Administrative Committee confirms timetable leading up to the start of the new court and availability of unitary patents and the opt-out sunrise period. Read more

The creation ("minting") and sale and use of NFTs raises many IP issues which we have discussed in our previous posts in our IP in NFTs series. However, brand owners and product manufacturers must also be vigilant in monitoring the virtual marketplaces to ensure that third parties are not creating NFTs that infringe their own IP rights.  This is especially true where the company is considering releasing or has released NFTs, because the public will begin to associate the brand with NFTs (which could include infringing NFTs).  There are several strategies that companies could adopt to minimise this risk. Read more

Laura Orlando's comments on reaching agreement on who has the right to seek or request opt-out or opt-in in relation to European patents and the up-coming UPC jurisdiction over them have been quoted by Managing Intellectual Property in an article of 16 June 2022: UPC special focus: Review licensing deals to avoid heartbreak, counsel warn. Read more

The Supreme People’s Court of China (Supreme Court) released the Interpretation (“Interpretation”) of the Supreme Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Law of the People’s Republic of China against Unfair Competition (“AUCL”), which was effective on March 20, 2022. The Interpretation consists of 29 clauses in total, and, based on the revised … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills' European IP team have authored a feature article The UPC and the unitary patent: a choice for businesses, published in the March 2022 edition of PLC Magazine on the impact of the UPC and unitary patent system now likely to commence at the end of 2022 or early in 2023. In Part 1 we look the patent choices the new patent system will provide for prospective patentees, including whether to request unitary status for their EPs (the unitary patent). We look in detail at unitary patents - how to obtain unitary status and the transactional issues surrounding unitary patents, including applicable law of property and licensing and co-ownership issues. We also set out the timeframe to the date when the UPC will start accepting cases; explain where the UPC and unitary patents will have effect; and suggest what businesses should be doing now. Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills' IP team has written an article for Managing IP setting out why and how clients should be preparing for the new Unified Patent Court (UPC), which could open its doors before the end of the year now that final preparations are under way (following the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement entering into force on 19 January 2022). Read more

IAM recently interviewed our IP partners Laura Orlando and Sebastian Moore in an article The EU’s UPC launch is imminent – here’s what IP strategists need to know, published on 25 January. The article explores the key steps and decisions for patent professionals in the months leading up to the UPC's launch and some of the important strategic considerations that should be factored in, including opt-out strategies, pros and cons for the life sciences industry, uncertainties on procedural questions, and much more. Read more

IAM have interviewed our IP partners Laura Orlando and Sebastian Moore in an article, The EU's Unified Patent Court is set to open in 2022 - this is what you need to know, on the progress towards the new European patent system. The article discusses the new landscape for patent enforcement - including the 2022 start date, opt-out considerations and deadlines, and the practical arrangements needed to bring the new court to life. Sebastian and Laura comment in particular on the location of the life sciences seat of the central division and the recruitment and composition of the UPC judiciary. Read more